Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 915

favors for them too far in advance. Do them just before they vote.”

Now, it may be that we didn't introduce it then after all, that Wagner thought it was foolish to introduce it so late and that it went over to the next session. That's easily checkable. It was a talking point in the campaign anyhow because he said that we were working on such legislation. If they didn't introduce it, it was known that we were working on it. In the campaign a lot was said about how the Supreme Court had ruined what the New Deal had tried to do. I'm pretty sure that we had introduced it so we could say, “But we are trying to repair the damage. We are pressing for much legislation, including a wage-hour bill.”

The problems of the President connected with the Supreme Court had come to a critical stage in which he had to give consideration to some action in the matter with the Schechter case decision on May 27, 1935. When Roosevelt came into office in '33 there were still four Justices on the bench who since World War I had regularly handed down decisions against any federal attempts to change conditions in mining and manufacturing industries. Those four were McReynolds, Butler, Van Devanter, and





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help